The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid_ A Memoir - Bill Bryson [114]
That’s the way of the world, of course. Possessions get discarded. Life moves on. But I often think what a shame it is that we didn’t keep the things that made us different and special and attractive in the fifties. Imagine those palatial downtown movie theaters with their vast screens and Egyptian decor, but thrillingly enlivened with Dolby sound and slick computer graphics. Now that would be magic. Imagine having all of public life—offices, stores, restaurants, entertainments—conveniently clustered in the heart of the city and experiencing fresh air and daylight each time you moved from one to another. Imagine having a cafeteria with atomic toilets, a celebrated tea room that gave away gifts to young customers, a clothing store with a grand staircase and a mezzanine, a Kiddie Corral where you could read comics to your heart’s content. Imagine having a city full of things that no other city had.
What a wonderful world that would be. What a wonderful world it was. We won’t see its like again, I’m afraid.
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Illustration Credits
ENDPAPERS: Hagley Museum and Library, Wilmington, Delaware
The Bryson family photos on FRONTMATTER, CHAPTER 2, CHAPTER 5, CHAPTER 10, CHAPTER 14, and ABOUT THE AUTHOR are from the author’s own collection.
CHAPTER 1: State Historical Society of Iowa
CHAPTER 3: State Historical Society of Iowa
CHAPTER 4: Courtesy the Advertising Archives, London
CHAPTER 6: Courtesy the Advertising Archives, London
CHAPTER 7: © CORBIS
CHAPTER 8: © Bettmann/CORBIS
CHAPTER 9: Special Collection at Cowles Library, Drake University, Des Moines; (inset) Special Collection at Cowles Library, Drake University, Des Moines
CHAPTER 11: Courtesy Bonestell Space Art
CHAPTER 12: John Dominis/Timepix
CHAPTER 13: © Bettmann/CORBIS
BILL BRYSON’s best-selling books include A Walk in the Woods, I’m a Stranger Here Myself, In